Water is a limited and natural resource. Greater Sydney's population is growing rapidly and expectations for more liveable cities are creating new and increased demands for water. This in turn places additional pressure on our water supplies.

To add to this pressure, urbanisation also has impacts on our local communities’ water needs and waterways. An increasingly variable and changing climate means we can't know with certainty how much rainfall will support our water supply system in the future.

The NSW Government's 2017 Metropolitan Water Plan is the response to these challenges and pressures. The plan’s main goal is to secure water for a liveable, growing and resilient greater Sydney. It establishes key strategies to be implemented over the life of the plan. It will also set us on a pathway towards a water supply system that meets greater Sydney’s needs for the next 50 years.

We use a number of steps to ensure you have safe drinking water

We have nine filtration plants. At each plant, we tailor our processes depending on the quality of the source water.

Typically, the water first flows through fine screens to remove debris, like twigs and leaves.

We then add a solution (coagulant) so small particles stick together (floc) and can be more easily filtered out.

We filter every drop of water through tightly packed beds of sand and anthracite (crushed carbon) to remove any remaining particles.

To ensure your water is safe, we carefully add small amounts of chlorine at our filtration plants. This is called primary chlorination. Chlorine is a safe and effective way to make sure your drinking water is free of harmful bacteria and viruses.

We also add fluoride to protect the health of your teeth. This is done under advice from NSW Health.

To ensure your water remains protected right to your tap, we add small amounts of chlorine to our reservoirs. This step is called secondary chlorination.